EP0861497B1 - Switches and switching systems - Google Patents
Switches and switching systems Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0861497B1 EP0861497B1 EP96938330A EP96938330A EP0861497B1 EP 0861497 B1 EP0861497 B1 EP 0861497B1 EP 96938330 A EP96938330 A EP 96938330A EP 96938330 A EP96938330 A EP 96938330A EP 0861497 B1 EP0861497 B1 EP 0861497B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- bridging
- bridging elements
- elements
- switch
- tracks
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H9/00—Details of switching devices, not covered by groups H01H1/00 - H01H7/00
- H01H9/54—Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the switching device and for which no provision exists elsewhere
- H01H9/548—Electromechanical and static switch connected in series
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H59/00—Electrostatic relays; Electro-adhesion relays
- H01H59/0009—Electrostatic relays; Electro-adhesion relays making use of micromechanics
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H1/00—Contacts
- H01H1/64—Protective enclosures, baffle plates, or screens for contacts
- H01H1/66—Contacts sealed in an evacuated or gas-filled envelope, e.g. magnetic dry-reed contacts
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H9/00—Details of switching devices, not covered by groups H01H1/00 - H01H7/00
- H01H9/30—Means for extinguishing or preventing arc between current-carrying parts
- H01H9/40—Multiple main contacts for the purpose of dividing the current through, or potential drop along, the arc
Abstract
Description
- Figure 1
- is a plan view showing a lower wafer of the switch and the location of the bridging elements of the switch;
- Figure 2
- is a cross-sectional transverse view of a part of the switch to an enlarged scale;
- Figure 3
- is a plan view of a central wafer of the switch; and
- Figure 4
- is a schematic diagram of a system including the switch.
Claims (9)
- A switch including two terminals (2 and 3), a plurality of conductive tracks (25 and 28) extending from each terminal, the conductive tracks (25) connected with one terminal (2) being electrically insulated from the tracks (28) connected with the other terminal (3), the switch including a plurality of electrically-conductive bridging elements (40) spaced from the tracks (25 and 28) and displaceable between a first position where the bridging elements are spaced from the tracks and a second position where each bridging elements is in contact with a track (25) connected with one terminal (2) and a track (28) connected with the other terminal (3) such that current can flow in parallel between the two terminals via the conductive tracks (25 and 28) and the bridging elements (40), and an actuator (52, 35) arranged to displace the bridging elements (40) between the first and second position, characterised in that at least some of the bridging elements (40) are formed in a common plate (31) of material that is fixed and is formed to provide flexible elements (47) by which the bridging elements are supported in the plate, such that each bridging element (40) is independently flexible relative to the plate (31) and failure of one bridging element (40) in the second position does not prevent other bridging elements moving to the first position.
- A switch according to Claim 1, characterised in that the upper surface of each track (25 and 28) and the lower surface (34) of each bridging element (40) is flat, and that in the lower position the bridging elements (40) contact the tracks (25 and 28) across their entire width.
- A switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the plate (31) is of silicon and the bridging elements (40) have an electrically-conductive layer (34) arranged to contact the tracks (25 and 28) when the bridging elements are displaced to their second position.
- A switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the bridging elements (40) are of rectangular shape, and that the flexible elements are a pair of flexure elements (47) extending outwardly of each bridging element (40) on opposite sides midway along its length.
- A switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the actuator (52, 35) is an electrostatic actuator.
- A switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the conductive tracks (25 and 28) and the bridging elements (40) are located in an evacuated housing (1).
- A switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the conductive tracks (25 and 28) extend on a silicon substrate (10).
- A switch according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the conductive tracks (25 and 28) extend on a layer (20) of diamond, and that the layer (20) of diamond extends on a substrate (10) of a different material.
- A switching system including a first switch (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the system includes a second semiconductor switch (101) connected in series with the first switch (100).
Applications Claiming Priority (5)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9523238 | 1995-11-14 | ||
GBGB9523238.5A GB9523238D0 (en) | 1995-11-14 | 1995-11-14 | Switches |
GB9524653 | 1995-12-01 | ||
GBGB9524653.4A GB9524653D0 (en) | 1995-12-01 | 1995-12-01 | Switches and switching systems |
PCT/GB1996/002774 WO1997018574A1 (en) | 1995-11-14 | 1996-11-11 | Switches and switching systems |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0861497A1 EP0861497A1 (en) | 1998-09-02 |
EP0861497B1 true EP0861497B1 (en) | 1999-04-28 |
Family
ID=26308111
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP96938330A Expired - Lifetime EP0861497B1 (en) | 1995-11-14 | 1996-11-11 | Switches and switching systems |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US6064126A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0861497B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2000500274A (en) |
AT (1) | ATE179548T1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU7579296A (en) |
DE (1) | DE69602283T2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1997018574A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5943223A (en) * | 1997-10-15 | 1999-08-24 | Reliance Electric Industrial Company | Electric switches for reducing on-state power loss |
DE19846639A1 (en) | 1998-10-09 | 2000-04-27 | Abb Research Ltd | Electrical switching device for protective switchgear has micro-relay cells connected in series and parallel, and integrated in chip |
WO2001080258A2 (en) * | 2000-04-18 | 2001-10-25 | Standard Mems, Inc. | A micro relay |
JP3775276B2 (en) * | 2001-10-24 | 2006-05-17 | 株式会社デンソー | Electrostatic actuator |
JP2004055410A (en) * | 2002-07-22 | 2004-02-19 | Advantest Corp | Bimorph switch, method of producing bimorph switch, electronic circuit, and method of producing electronic circuit |
US7551048B2 (en) * | 2002-08-08 | 2009-06-23 | Fujitsu Component Limited | Micro-relay and method of fabricating the same |
US6930487B2 (en) * | 2002-12-12 | 2005-08-16 | Howard L. North, Jr. | Method for electronic damping of electrostatic positioners |
US6951941B2 (en) * | 2003-02-06 | 2005-10-04 | Com Dev Ltd. | Bi-planar microwave switches and switch matrices |
JP4494130B2 (en) * | 2004-08-26 | 2010-06-30 | 日本電信電話株式会社 | Manufacturing method of electrostatic drive switch |
US7321275B2 (en) * | 2005-06-23 | 2008-01-22 | Intel Corporation | Ultra-low voltage capable zipper switch |
US7602261B2 (en) | 2005-12-22 | 2009-10-13 | Intel Corporation | Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) switch |
US7554421B2 (en) | 2006-05-16 | 2009-06-30 | Intel Corporation | Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) trampoline switch/varactor |
US7605675B2 (en) | 2006-06-20 | 2009-10-20 | Intel Corporation | Electromechanical switch with partially rigidified electrode |
WO2008071134A1 (en) * | 2006-12-14 | 2008-06-19 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Device for galvanic isolation of a semiconductor switch, electronic switching device and contact-making and isolating module |
BE1026349B1 (en) * | 2018-06-08 | 2020-01-13 | Phoenix Contact Gmbh & Co | Circuit breaker with monitoring device and method therefor |
Family Cites Families (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5430597A (en) * | 1993-01-04 | 1995-07-04 | General Electric Company | Current interrupting device using micromechanical components |
US5374792A (en) * | 1993-01-04 | 1994-12-20 | General Electric Company | Micromechanical moving structures including multiple contact switching system |
US5479042A (en) * | 1993-02-01 | 1995-12-26 | Brooktree Corporation | Micromachined relay and method of forming the relay |
US5619061A (en) * | 1993-07-27 | 1997-04-08 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Micromechanical microwave switching |
DE4414970C2 (en) * | 1994-04-28 | 1996-02-22 | Siemens Ag | Micromechanical component with a switching element as a movable structure, microsystem and manufacturing process |
DE4421980A1 (en) * | 1994-06-23 | 1995-04-06 | Hartmut Kaufmann | Heavy-current microswitch |
FR2726135B1 (en) * | 1994-10-25 | 1997-01-17 | Suisse Electronique Microtech | SWITCHING DEVICE |
-
1996
- 1996-11-11 AT AT96938330T patent/ATE179548T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1996-11-11 EP EP96938330A patent/EP0861497B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1996-11-11 WO PCT/GB1996/002774 patent/WO1997018574A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1996-11-11 AU AU75792/96A patent/AU7579296A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-11-11 DE DE1996602283 patent/DE69602283T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1996-11-11 JP JP51866497A patent/JP2000500274A/en not_active Ceased
- 1996-11-11 US US09/043,666 patent/US6064126A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO1997018574A1 (en) | 1997-05-22 |
JP2000500274A (en) | 2000-01-11 |
US6064126A (en) | 2000-05-16 |
ATE179548T1 (en) | 1999-05-15 |
AU7579296A (en) | 1997-06-05 |
EP0861497A1 (en) | 1998-09-02 |
DE69602283T2 (en) | 1999-08-19 |
DE69602283D1 (en) | 1999-06-02 |
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